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Bushyasta
Bushyasta (Avesta, ''būšyāsta'', ''būšiiąstā'') is the Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrian demon (''daeva'') of sloth. Her stock epithet is "the long-handed". In scripture as well as in later tradition, Bushyasta (Middle Persian: ''Bushasp'') is the hypostasis of laziness and idleness. She is the cause of procrastination as she strives to keep the righteous (''ashavan'') from performing productive tasks. She lulls the world back to sleep and "makes the faithful forget in slumber the hour of prayer.". Although there are "as many demons as the sins that man commits" and Bushyasta is among the few ''daeva''s who are specifically mentioned in the texts, she is not among the fiends who are described in any great detail.. In scripture Besides Bushyasta's stock epithet as "the long-handed," (e.g. ''Vendidad'' 11.9, 11.12, 18.16; ''Yasht'' 10.97), she is also described to be "gaunt" (''Vendidad'' 11.9 and 11.12), and in ''Yasht'' 18.2, she is said to be ''zairi'', "yellow, golden, green. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daeva
A daeva (Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 ''daēuua'') is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the ''daeva''s are " gods that are (to be) rejected". This meaning is – subject to interpretation – perhaps also evident in the Old Persian "''daiva'' inscription" of the 5th century BCE. In the ''Younger Avesta'', the daevas are divinities that promote chaos and disorder. In later tradition and folklore, the ''dēw''s (Zoroastrian Middle Persian; New Persian ''div''s) are personifications of every imaginable evil. Over time, the Daeva myth as Div became integrated to Persian mythology. ''Daeva'', the Iranian language term, shares the same origin of "Deva" of Hinduism, which is a cognate with Latin deus ("god") and Greek Zeus. While the word for the Vedic spirits and the word for the Zoroastrian entities are etymologically related, their function and thematic development is altogether d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Persian
Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Persian continued to function as a prestige language. It descended from Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenid Empire and is the linguistic ancestor of Modern Persian, the official language of Iran (also known as Persia), Afghanistan ( Dari) and Tajikistan ( Tajik). Name "Middle Iranian" is the name given to the middle stage of development of the numerous Iranian languages and dialects. The middle stage of the Iranian languages begins around 450 BCE and ends around 650 CE. One of those Middle Iranian languages is Middle Persian, i.e. the middle stage of the language of the Persians, an Iranian people of Persia proper, which lies in the south-western Iran highlands on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khwarenah
''Khvarenah'' (also spelled ''khwarenah'' or ''xwarra(h)'': ) is an Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept literally denoting "glory" or "splendour" but understood as a divine mystical force or power projected upon and aiding the appointed. The neuter noun thus also connotes "(divine) royal glory", reflecting the perceived divine empowerment of kings. The term also carries a secondary meaning of "(good) fortune"; those who possess it are able to complete their mission or function. In 3rd- to 7th-century Sassanid-era inscriptions as well as in the 9th- to 12th-century texts of Zoroastrian tradition, the word appears as Zoroastrian Middle Persian ''khwarrah'', rendered with the Pahlavi ideogram ''GDE'', reflecting Aramaic ''gada'' "fortune". Middle Persian ''khwarrah'' continues as New Persian ''k(h)orra''. These variants, which are assumed to be learned borrowings from the Avestan, are the only Iranian language forms with an initial 'xᵛ-'. In all other dialects, the word has an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avesta
The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Modern Edition (book), editions of the Avesta are based on the various manuscript traditions that have survived in Zoroastrianism in India, India and Zoroastrianism in Iran, Iran. The individual texts of the Avesta were originally Oral tradition, oral compositions. They were composed over a long period of several centuries during the Avestan period, Old Iranian period (possibly ranging from 15th century BCE – 4th century BCE). The written transmission began during the Sassanian empire, Sassanian period, with the creation of the Avestan alphabet. The resulting texts were then compiled into a comprehensive edition of the Sasanian Avesta, Avesta in 21 volumes. This edition was lost sometime after the 10th century CE and only a small part survi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mithra
Mithra ( ; ) is an ancient Iranian deity ('' yazata'') of covenants, light, oaths, justice, the Sun, contracts, and friendship. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth (''Asha''), and the guardian of cattle, the harvest, and the Waters. The Romans attributed their Mithraic mysteries to Zoroastrian Persian sources relating to Mithra. Since the early 1970s, the dominant scholarship has noted dissimilarities between the Persian and Roman traditions, making it, at most, the result of Roman ''perceptions'' of Zoroastrian ideas. Etymology Together with the Vedic common noun ''mitra'', the Avestan common noun ''miθra'' derives from Proto-Indo-Iranian '' *mitrám'' (Mitra), from the root ''*mi-'' "to bind", with the "tool suffix" ''-tra-'' "causing to". Thus, etymologically ''mitra''/''miθra'' means "that which causes binding", preserved in the Avestan word for "Covenant, Contract, Oath". In Middle Ir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yazata
Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general sense, also applied to certain healing plants, primordial creatures, the '' fravashis'' of the dead, and to certain prayers that are themselves considered holy. The ''yazata''s collectively are "the good powers under Ahura Mazda", who is "the greatest of the ''yazata''s". Etymology ''Yazata'' is an Avestan-language passive adjectival participle derived from ''yaz-''; "to worship, to honor, to venerate", from Proto-Indo-European ''*yeh₂ǵ-'' (“to worship, revere, sacrifice”). The word '' yasna'' or yagna– "worship, sacrifice, oblation, prayer" – comes from the same root. A ''yaza+ ta'' is accordingly "a being worthy of worship", "an object of worship" or "a holy being". As the stem form, ''yazata-'' has the inflected nomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amesha Spenta
In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta (—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the term include the contraction 'Ameshaspand' as well as the specifically Zoroastrian 'Mahraspand' and 'Amahraspand'. As divine entities Significantly more common than the non-specific meaning of ''Amesha Spenta'' (see below) is a restrictive use of the term to refer to the great seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda. In Zoroastrian tradition, these are the first seven emanations of the uncreated creator, through whom all subsequent creation was accomplished. This fundamental doctrine is only alluded to in the Avesta, but is systematically described in later Middle Persian language texts, in particular in the '' Bundahishn'', an 11th or 12th century work that recounts Zoroastrian cosmology. The expression ''Amesha Spenta'' does ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archdemon
In some occult and similar writings, an archdemon (also spelled archdaemon), archdevil, or archfiend is a spiritual entity prominent in the Hell, infernal hierarchy as a leader of demons. Essentially, the archdemons are the evil opponents of the archangels. Christian traditions Archdemons are described as the leaders of demonic hosts, just as archangels lead Hierarchy of angels, choirs of angels. Based upon the writings of Saint Paul (Col. 1:16; Eph. 1:21) the angelic court had been constructed by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and comprised nine orders of angels with three orders each to three hierarchies. The first hierarchy consists of seraphim, cherubim and Throne (angel), thrones. The second hierarchy consists of Domination (angel), dominations, Virtue (angel), virtues and Power (angel), powers. The third hierarchy consists of Principality (angel), principalities, archangels and angels. This system of classifying angels has been accepted by the majority of Christian schol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bundahishn
The ''Bundahishn'' (Middle Persian: , "Primal Creation") is an encyclopedic collection of beliefs about Zoroastrian cosmology written in the Book Pahlavi script. The original name of the work is not known. It is one of the most important extant witnesses to Zoroastrian literature in the Middle Persian language. Although the ''Bundahishn'' draws on the Avesta and develops ideas alluded to in those texts, it is not itself scripture. The content reflects Zoroastrian scripture, which, in turn, reflects both ancient Zoroastrian and pre-Zoroastrian beliefs. In some cases, the text alludes to contingencies of post-7th century Islam in Iran, and in yet other cases, such as the idea that the Moon is farther than the stars. Structure The ''Bundahishn'' survives in two recensions: an Indian and an Iranian version. The shorter version was found in India and contains only 30 chapters, and is thus known as the ''Lesser Bundahishn'', or ''Indian Bundahishn''. A copy of this version was broug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu (; ) is the Avestan name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the Spenta Mainyu, the "holy/creative spirits/mentality", or directly of Ahura Mazda, the highest deity of Zoroastrianism. The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman (anglicised pronunciation: ). The name can appear in English-language works as Ahrimanes. In the Avesta In Zoroaster's revelation Avestan ''angra mainyu'' "seems to have been an original conception of Zoroaster's." In the Gathas, which are the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and are attributed to Zoroaster, ''angra mainyu'' is not yet a proper name.Proper names are altogether rare in the Gathas. In these texts, even Ahura Mazda and Amesha Spenta are not yet proper names. In the one instance in these hymns where the two words appear together, the concept spoken of is that of a ''mainyu'' ("mind", "spirit" or otherwise an abstract energy etc.)The translation of '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apaosha
Apaosha (', ') is the Avestan language name of Zoroastrianism's demon of drought. He is the epitomized antithesis of Tishtrya, divinity of the star Sirius and guardian of rainfall. In Zoroastrian tradition, Apaosha appears as Aposh or Apaush. For many decades, the Avestan common noun ' "drought" was thought to derive from either ''*'' "burning away" or ''*'' "stemming the waters.". In the late 1960s, it was proposed that ' was the antonym of an unattested derivative of ''*'' "thriving". This explanation, which is also supported by Old Indic ' with the same meaning, is today well accepted. Avestan ' thus originally meant "not thriving". In the Avesta In the mythology described in the Tishtar Yasht (Yt. 8.21-29),. Tishtrya, as a mighty white horse with golden ears and golden tail, rushes towards the cosmic sea Vourukhasha. On his way, he is confronted by Apaosha as a horrible black horse with black ears and black tail. They battle for three days and nights until Apaosha drives Ti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
